safe places
by teeceecee
Summary: Shiro never expected to meet a familiar face in space. When he visits a shady cantina opposite of the Arus galaxy, the Black Paladin gets more than he bargains for when he meets Athena Nakamura. She's not exactly the girl he once knew and with dark secrets, doubts and danger lurking at every corner, space is about to become more interesting. Shiro/OC. Rated M. Mild Klance.
1. familiar faces

**hey fanfiction, it's been a while. so, this is new my story and i hope you guys enjoy this!**

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She was his safe place.

Her nails digging into his back, marring the numerous scars he suffered under the Galra empire while captured stood proud, red gashes an emblem of her passion. He let her scratch, bite, anything to lower the simmer of passion between them. Shiro loved how he could forget his Paladin duties when in her care, knowing full well that he would have to go back to it when morning broke.

Athena giggled when she felt his hands wonder down to cup her bottom. His mouth found her pulse point, and her laughter melted away, turning into moans as he angled deeper into her. Shiro had met her whilst they were cadets at the garrison and they had virtually watched each other grow up into the pilots they are today. He had lost contact with her since Kerberos, the relationships he left on Earth put on a hold ever since Voltron and saving the universe happened.

Never had he expect to meet her on a solo deviant expedition. He was at a cantina, trying to remain inconspicuous, his shock of electric white hair hidden under a cloak as he ordered another round of gin. He was on his own solo travel, away from Allura and the rest of the Paladins. He knew it was selfish to leave them when they needed his calm leadership now more than ever, but the pressure was straining. His nightmares were getting worse, and being in stuck in space was turning dark circles around his mind. Shiro needed to escape for the benefit of his team. He heaved in a sigh when her voice broke through his concentration.

"Takashi Shirogane."

His cybertronic fingers twitched as he whirled around, confronted with violet eyes, brow furrowed in amazement. "It is you."

Her name was a rushed breath. "Athena."

He could wax lyrical about her dark hair, or her compelling eyes or her smile that reminded him of the time they both snuck out of a party to watch fireflies. He could vividly remember her at the steps of his family home, shyly hidden behind Ethan, her brother, those same eyes ducked low whenever he smiled at her. Shiro was not the lyrical kind, but her beautiful face rendered him speechless for a moment; she had grown up so much.

Shiro shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

He wasn't just looking at his best friend's baby sister; he was downright ogling her.

The last time he saw her, she was a skinny thing, light as a toothpick in his arms when she challenged him to hoist her on his back. Athena had grown into her curves, body filling out in an attractive way that he had to force himself not to gawk at the feminine lines of her curvaceous body clad in the skin-tight black suit.

This wasn't the sort of reunion he had expected to take place in a shady cantina opposite the Arus galaxy.

His brain was whirring, as her impulsive eyes was stuck on him. He was struggling with his words, the questions firing off like lightning bolts into the night.

"Athena—"

"I know, it's crazy that I'm here," she said, nursing the alien alcohol she ordered previously. Her violet gaze flickered back to him. "I can't say the same for you."

He bowed his head. "How are you doing? I haven't seen you since our garrison days."

"And I haven't seen you since I heard you went missing."

His laughter was shaky at best. Kerberos still drew his breath up short and teased the lid of all his suppressed memories from the time he spent under Galran capture. His teammates were beginning to see the extent of Galra's cruelty, and he hadn't the heart to divulge in them the violent visions that haunted him when he was least suspecting. Phantom pain would rip through his cybertronic hand, leaving him heaving with invisible agony.

"I've been…busy."

"I bet," she said, a kind smile gracing her face. Athena set her drink down, wrapping him in an embrace, and he froze, momentarily stunned. He hugged her back, a little fiercely as he held her close to him, heart beating in a strange way when he thought about her body melded near his.

Shiro had been away from women long enough during his imprisonment that her touch was doing strange things to his heart. The only women that he shared a common space were Pidge and Allura, the former being disinterested in romance and the other on a different level than what he was accustomed to. Though he was fond of both, none of them had stirred him in ways like this.

"How's Ethan? How are you here? Did you graduate from the garrison?"

"Slow down," she chuckled, and pulled back. Shiro made her blush when he smiled wide.

"It's great to see you here."

"I could say the same to you," she looked down, struggling to admit something. "I…I nearly had a heart attack when I thought I saw your silhouette. Told myself I was dreaming."

"I feel the same," he huffed, chuckling. The mood turned dark when she caught sight of the metal arm he had hidden inside the cloak.

Shiro's stomach sank when a look of horror spread across her face. He steeled himself for the pity, the worry and the eventual inquisition of how he ended in this state, but she did none of that.

"Athena—"

She exhaled and levelled him with a gaze that left him bare and susceptible to her wills. "Shiro, I can see that you've been through hell, and I can say the same for myself. Let's put those horrid questions behind. You want another drink? This one's on me."

"But—"

"No serious talk. Until we get drunk," she said, with that same playful smile he had been attracted to in his younger days.

The only reason why he hadn't made a move on her was because Ethan was deeply overprotective of his little sister. He remembered all those cornered days when he would be in the same room as Athena, chemistry charged up, most of the time slightly drunk and on the verge of realizing their attraction. They were always interrupted, and Ethan had once told him that if any guy went after his sister, he would personally see that his life was ended. He had believed him.

Ethan was the second-best pilot after him, good flying genetics running in the Nakamura blood as his sister was a close contender. He was a guy not to messed with. They were as close as brothers, and Shiro often felt privileged that he was considered a family friend.

The Nakamura's and the Holt's were the few people from Earth that he missed.

Athena and he picked up where they left off, low voices and gentle laughter slowly turning to tentative touches, the seedy bar lighting the already smouldering attraction, lending to their recklessness.

He kissed her for the first time under the dim, greasy lighting, and when they parted, there was a fiery yearning in her eyes. "I've always wanted to do that," he whispered.

"I want you to do that again…and more," she confessed. He was gone the moment she admitted that.

It was easy falling into bed with her, her hotel room conveniently located a mile from the cantina he had wanted to drink his worries away. He regretted never making a move on her all those years ago and she echoed his sentiments, making up for their lost time.

Shiro came back to the present, Athena's lips pressed to his neck as they laid, spent.

"What are you thinking off?" she asked softly, not wanting to disrupt the fragile peace.

He chuckled, squeezing her waist. "How I met you. The first time and that time at the cantina."

"You looked so lost," she said, smile hazy. "I wanted to know what was bothering you."

His knuckles brushed her jaw with a tenderness that he hadn't known he was capable of. She hadn't questioned him on the cybertronic arm or flinched away from the cold, as he was apt to belief anybody would. She didn't even blink when he insisted on keeping his shirt on during sex, not wanting her to catch sight of his scarred skin. Athena swelled an emotion in him that he thought was long dead, stamped out by his ruthless captors.

Shiro was a warrior, his newly modified body designed for inflicting pain to his enemies. The rational part of his perpetually muddled mind told him to keep her away, to spare her the pain of the damage he knew he was capable of. He knew that there was a chance they were never going to see each other again.

But she didn't.

Her eyes closed as pleasure rippled on her face and she leaned into his touch, lost in him. He leaned down to savour her lips, as if he didn't have his teammates and a pissed off princess waiting for him at the Castle of Lions, time slowing in her presence. Athena didn't seem to mind, straddling his lap as her hands wondered down his broad shoulders, their harsh breathing echoing between them.

Shiro flipped her over with an ease that barely utilized his strength as her smiling mouth welcomed him back. The sheets slipped off from his shoulders as Athena's chest rose to view in the stark room, nipples hardening from the cold. He warmed them with his mouth and moved to kiss a wayward path down her toned body, stopping at the juncture of her thighs.

"Takashi," she whispered, using his first name, the walls slipping further down his senses as his tongue explored her, tasting the sweetness at the apex of her thighs. She gripped his hair and her back bowed from the bed, her free hand tracing the outline of her breast, trembling fingers pinching her nipple in tandem with his licks.

Shiro nearly came from that visual treat and left her on the verge of release, needing to maintain his control. Athena threw that composure out of the window as she tugged him up, gripping the base of his cock, stroking it as her tongue sampled her own arousal off his lips.

He had never been this hasty with a woman, almost frantic for the warm clasp of her pussy around his cock. He pushed her hands aside and lined the head of his erection to her wet entrance.

"Look at me, Takashi," she whispered, nearly becoming his undoing as he drowned himself in her body and her electrifying violet eyes.

It unnerved him how he was succumbing to her whims, never taking his gaze off her as their centres pulsed.

Their foreheads rested together, and she welcomed him with a soft gasp, still unused to his girth and length as he moved slowly in her. His fingers tangled in her rich dark hair and she moaned as he tugged her closer, kissing her soundly and swallowing her mewls.

"Athena," he gasped as her vice-like grip milked his cock, her climax pushing his own as he spilled into her for the fourth time that day.

The silence after a mind-numbing orgasm is always the loudest. Shiro and Athena fell into each other's embraces, quiet except for their steadily slowing breaths.

He didn't want to think of the complications they faced when he had to leave this planet. He wanted this moment to be imprinted in his memory, the girl that got away in his arms, her soft breaths falling against his neck, these few hours in her presence reviving him in ways that he didn't know was possible. She made him feel young again, like they were on still on earth where this encounter had the possibility of coming true. He yearned for their garrison days, those unaltered times before he accepted Dr. Holt's invitation to pilot that fateful ship to Kerberos; before the safety of four adolescents and two aliens were thrown onto his already strained shoulders.

Shiro thought he knew true contentment when he found a family with his teammates, a new home and safe spaces to work out his demons. Athena threw that all out the window.

She perplexed him. Her sweet face was smoothed out in sleep as he remained stubbornly awake, wanting to brand her memory into his mind, before it slipped away like everything did when he lost his bearings and control; surrendering his restraint to the flashbacks that have been occurring more frequently now that he was away from the Galra's grasp.

Her high forehead, one he remembered her being insecure over was a blank canvas, and he wondered how in the world did she find him. It felt like years since he thought of Athena Nakamura. She had briefly entered his mind, a day before the fated meeting in the cantina. He was thinking of his friends and the life he left behind in the garrison, thoughts inadvertently settling on her once the storm in his mind calmed. There was never a doubt that she was alive; he could feel it in the universe's vibrations.

She landed in his arms like a forbidden fruit, one he rushed to taste but had no opportunity to hold forever. He knew they lead different lives; Athena had not once told him about what transpired in her days after the garrison, but he knew it was difficult.

Her body was littered with tiny bruises and her arms were faint with scars. Though she tried to hide it from him, he knew that they existed, his trained eyes catching them without fail, labelling them as things they were not supposed to talk about.

Her whole presence was a mystery.

She stirred and blinked awake, invigorated from her short nap.

"You didn't sleep?" she murmured as he placed a soft kiss on her temple.

"I couldn't," he said, a sad smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

She stretched and his battle-trained eyes noted the dips in her body, the curves and muscles that existed under her ochre skin.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Athena yawned. "Talk about what?"

"About how you're on the same planet as me?"

She sighed, rolling out from his arms and planting her feet onto the floor. Shiro watched her with avid interest as she piled her dark hair onto the top of her head and knotted it swiftly, leaving her features bare to the light.

"I don't know where to start—"

"From the beginning," he said, not letting her actions distract from his burning curiosity. The Black Paladin had a calm exterior but his inner turmoil raged with boundless possibilities; one being that she was here to spy on him.

Athena sat back down on the bed and threw the covers around her naked form. That was one thing he remembered of her: she was one of the rare female pilots who was open about her body. At first, his conservative nature had listed it off as her being attention seeking, but that all changed when she told him one night, after dinner, that she was open about her body because she couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

He wouldn't admit it, but that was the first night she starred in all his hormonal fantasies.

"I don't know if you will believe me, but I'm here on a holiday…of some sort," she started. "I'm setting out on a diplomatic mission of sorts, to offer help to a struggling monarch."

"A…monarch?"

"Yes. I can't tell you the details, it's in none of your interest. Besides—" she bit her lip and trailed her hand down his torso. Shiro caught it from wandering further and pressed her on, infuriatingly focused.

"—I don't want to spend the last remaining moments of my freedom bickering about my future," she added ruefully. He pressed a soft kiss on her wrist, before letting her hand go.

"Bicker? Is that what you think I would do?" he teased.

She laughed. "Well, you're not exactly Mr. Amicable, aren't you? God, I remember our garrison days."

"You were always finding some way to sass a commander off," he remarked fondly, remembering their old times.

"And you were always the model example of a student," she said, her smile falling when a dark thought tainted her mind. "I…I grieved for you when I heard you went missing." She touched the electric white clump of hair at the top of his head and the laceration on his face, a hint of sorrow in her eyes. "What happened to you?"

"Athena…I don't really want to talk about it."

He could see her starting to formulate an argument when he stopped her. "I still don't know what happened. Bad things have been done to me Thie, and I don't want to get into it. I don't want to remember what I've done."

"What have you done?" she whispered, a look of concern marring her pretty face.

"Horrible things," he exhaled, and though it was barely a fissure of truth, it felt good to let somebody else hear it. No one on the team knew except for Pidge, and she was hardly interested in the trials he went through unless they were related to her still missing brother or father.

"Did someone force you to do it?"

He swallowed. "Yes."

Athena could see he was in plain anguish. The world hadn't stopped for Shiro to properly absorb that he was now a Paladin Leader and the infamous Black Lion pilot. He had just been saved from the Galras a few months ago and was still coming to terms that he had been captured and violated by the same vile creatures he was now forced to fight.

It was enough to make the sanest person in the world scream in frustration.

She sighed, running a hand down his chest. "I know where you're coming from."

"I won't ask you about it if you don't ask me about mine," he offered, unhelpful.

Athena took the opportunity to chuckle, understanding where he was coming from.

"I think we should fare better that way."

He wanted to say more when a beeping alerted him to the other Paladin's distressed call.

"Crap," he cursed under his breath, hopping out from the still warm sheets as he hurriedly dragged on his blaster-proof jacket. Athena, who was watching all of this with wide eyes, noted in interest his protective garments. "Sorry, I have to leave," he murmured as he clipped on his utility belt, switching off the flashing red device that jarred them from their peaceful afternoon.

"No big deal," she said, leaning down to retrieve her bodysuit. "It's not like I assumed my dead best friend whom I slept with was here to stay. Not at all."

He groaned. "It's not like that, Thie."

"It is like that, Takashi," she said, and the mention of his name stopped himself from progressing further. Shiro leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Look, I'm not saying goodbye forever. I just want to solve something that will be in the way of me coming back." He roped her into a hug, pressing her close. He missed her, that was simple; he missed those few precious moments of respite that she gifted him. She made him feel normal – whole – more like a person than a human machine gun.

"I promise I will come back for you."

"Promise?" she breathed.

"With my soul," he said, releasing her. She watched as he left the room, taking with him her fragile belief in his words.


	2. truth behind the face

**i can't be the only one who was affected by the new season, right?**

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Shiro launched himself out of the hotel lobby. He had neglected taking the Black Lion for this deviant expedition, knowing that a huge mechanical feline would draw more attention than a small fighter plane. The plane hummed to live once he stepped in; the Paladin helmet he stashed under the seat flashed with unanswered calls.

He slipped it on and immediate frantic voices streamed in through the comm.

"Shiro, where are you?"

"Buddy, did you die?"

"Shiro, answer me now or so help me I will kill your future offspring-!" Princess Allura's threat was enough to kickstart his adrenaline.

"Guys, I'm here. What happened?"

A collective sigh of relief.

"I thought you got eaten by Galrans," Keith accused.

Lance snorted. "More like he was freaking out that you had turned into goop stew."

"Shut up, Lance."

" _You_ shut up!"

"Cadets!" Shiro exclaimed, their argumentative nature getting on his nerves.

"Enough," Allura growled. "Shiro, get back to our quarters now. We've received a distressed signal from one of the near moons– most likely Galran activity. My people have held trade ties with Lunarans for centuries and we will honor their call for help. Paladins, let's go!"

Shiro agreed and powered the plane to the last known location of the Althean castle. He piloted the plane with neck breaking speed. The crystal walls of the castle came into view, the desolate craters of this unknown planet looming past. He had deluded himself with this blissful afternoon, that he had forgotten how grey and bleak it looked like. Allura's castle was the only bright spot, and he could see the other lions were already in formation, ready for him to take the head.

He disembarked from the plane, wary of his teammates eyes on him as he zipped down the foyer and into the hangar bay, landing with well-practiced grace into the leather chair of the Black Lion's cockpit. The comms were quiet, everyone waiting for Allura's further instructions.

"Good to see you all back," she started. "Encrypted messages are streaming in from the Lunarans monarch of how there have been sightings of large ships looming in the horizon. We have reason to believe that Zarkon may be scoping the planet to see if he could somehow harness its power."

The knowledge of the Galran Druids and their ability to harness a planet's quintessence was a silent pressure on the team. Shiro took a deep breath, burying Athena and their blissful afternoon. He could not afford to become distracted now.

"Let's take a trip, Paladins," he said and the rest of them hooted in agreement, following his lead as they hurled into the wormhole, ready to face this new threat.

Athena looked back at the room she shared with Shiro these past two days, a wistful smile marring her lips. Shiro may have his own demons and burdens to deal with, but that didn't mean she was free from her own problems.

She was due to Varinja one lengthy _dobosh_ from now. Athena hurried, checking out of her hotel and running to her ship, zooming out of this beautiful planet whose name she still had trouble remembering. Mentally, she prepared her speech, noting the fallacies and the falsities where she marked it out with ruthless dictation. Though the Princess was the one who had called on her when she had offered her brand of help, Athena still felt the need to sell her specialty to the troubled monarch.

The desolate planet that greeted her after the prepared wormhole was hardly the paradise she stayed in, and this rude awakening was a much-needed shock to her brain. She could focus on her mission, and bury her thoughts on Shiro as best she could. There was no need to trouble herself; she didn't believe a word he said when he promised her he would come back.

The domed walls of the castle glistened under the weak sun. She hovered in front of the protective barrier.

"Verification of identity, plane number and intent," a high voice said in way of greeting.

"This is Pilot Nakamura flying Alpha 7 Zulu 31, requested by the Princess of Althea on a special meeting."

A hum and a pleasant man's voice sounded through the radio.

"Entrance granted. Welcome to the Castle of Lions, Pilot Nakamura."

Shiro had never felt this beaten in his life.

They had engaged with the Galrans atop the frozen mountain. The aliens, upon realizing that they were at the losing end, retreated, leaving the planet secure once more. He had commanded the rest of the Paladins to fall back, not wanting to waste their resources on a scouting ship

Though his teammates celebrated, Shiro hardly found in him the need to be festive. They were still leagues away from figuring out what Zarkon and his evil warlocks wanted with harnessing a planet's life forces . The enemy's mission remained a mystery and Shiro held hope that the sooner they found out Zarkon's waking goal, the sooner they could return to earth.

He commanded them to reconnaissance at the Castle, dutifully alerting Allura of their victory. The wormhole greeted them with its familiar pulsing speed and soon they were back on the stark grounds of planet Varinja.

There was another plane parked outside the gates. To anyone else, this ship was little to no concern, but to Shiro, his guard was already up.

"Allura, were you expecting company?"

"An ally," her voice said over the comm, breezy and unhurt. "I can't wait for you Paladins to meet her."

"Her?" Lance said, perking up at the mention of a female. He removed his helmet and smoothed back his brown locks, cocky grin in place. "Do I look handsome or do I look handsome?"

"Neither. You look like death. Only scrawnier," Keith replied in a bored fashion.

Lance stuck out his tongue and Shiro, used to their bickering, didn't register the mention of this newcomer. "Allura, I'll have our mission details presented soon."

"That's wonderful to hear."

He turned to Pidge. "Did you get the duplicate code of the ship's mothering signal?"

"Sure did," the smart communications officer said. "It's already encoding into our system for filing right now as we speak."

"Great job, Pidge," Shiro said, smiling warmly.

"Hungry," Hunk grunted as he went before them, presumably to the castle pantry.

Shiro stood a little way back from the group, marching on behind them as their lions returned to the hangers. He kept his mind glued to the last words the Galran spat over the comm as they sped their scouting ship away:

" _Zarkon will have what belongs to him!_ "

He was starting to dislike this Zarkon character more and more, seeing as how the alien dictator would be willing to rip lives apart for his own gain. And amusement.

Shiro's cybertronic arm gave a tiny spasm.

Allura was missing, and he let his team settle down on the communal sofas for a rest as he marched into the control room. The door to his right hissed open and the Althean princess walked out, accompanied by another similar sized figure. He stopped in his tracks, disbelieving.

They were talking , and he could see color on the princess' cheeks. The smaller figure was heart-achingly familiar, gesturing with enthusiasm.

The young woman stopped in her tracks, as Lance assuaged her with his typical brand of flirtation, but they fell on deaf ears. Her eyes were glued on him and only him.

His breath caught.

Athena.

"Wait, you two know each other?"

He must've said her name out loud instead. Shiro had to mentally shake off the surprise, responding to Pidge's question.

"Paladins, meet—"

"Athena Nakamura," Shiro said. Her attention was on him, and he struggled to keep his tone and expression neutral. "The Garrison's best female pilot. From the 2112 batch."

"Before I dropped out," she amended to the quiet room.

Keith looked her up and down, breaking the silence. "I remember you." The Red Paladin had no sense of tact when he said: "You're Ethan's sister, aren't you?"

Athena nodded, growing quieter.

"Athena has recently lost her brother on the attack in Narvos. He was killed while leading a flight of freedom fighters against Zarkon's third quadrants in the region," Allura murmured, her shrewd blue eyes landing on Keith.

"Ethan's dead?" Shiro's voice had taken on a low quality and Athena looked at him – really looked at him for the first time since she arrived.

"Yes," was her simple reply. "It's been almost a year."

Keith had the decency to look ashamed. "I-I'm sorry for your lost."

Shiro nodded, murmuring, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Athena said, smiling at him. "My brother died a hero and I feel no need to be sad over it."

"I understand," Pidge quipped from her stance in the middle of the room, the atmosphere weighing with not one, but three losses.

"What are you doing here, Athena?" Shiro asked, addressing her instead of allowing Allura to finish her introduction.

"Athena is here as a friend and a comrade. She has a particular interest in quintessence and will be able to help us study its properties. Her familial ties are, also, of great advantage to us." Allura looked over the whole team as she said this: "She holds ties to the Galran Empire. Her great-grandfather was a defect from a colony."

Shiro's heart skipped a beat.

Athena, Galran, defect…

"And you're…okay with this?" Lance asked, perplexed. The team knew what he was talking about. It was no secret that Allura despised Galras and extended the same treatment to any connection with them.

"I'm fine," the princess said. "I trust her; how could I not when her brother sacrificed his life for the universe and her family has renounced all ties?"

It was all swimming in his mind, the information building a block in his senses. It was all giving him a migraine and Allura wasn't helping.

"I know the deeper properties of quintessence and offered to help when Allura's message was picked up by Earth," she said, commanding the attention of everyone in the room. "I offered this specific set of skills and information when I heard about the reformation of Voltron. I hope that by aligning myself with this cause, I will erase my family's dark past and redeem our…better qualities."

Hunk whistled lowly, breaking the tense silence. "This day keeps getting interesting.

"How do you know all this when you're from Earth?" Lance quizzed.

She sighed. "When a Blue lion erupts from the dirt and NASA catches sight of that same lion engaged in a fight with a Galran ship. Well...Earth wants answers."

Lance had the audacity to grin. "Did we look good?"

"The point is, conspiracy theories are rampant and NASA partnered with my family's lab to send one of us in space to figure out what the hell's going on. What we found instead was a war. And that's where my ties with the Galra come in."

The team shared some glances, not knowing what to say.

He recalled that her mother and father both owned independent research labs that had ties to NASA. It would explain why she was here and how Earth managed to intercept Allura's message.

"Well, if you're willing to help us, I don't see what the problem is," Pidge said, when clearly, she had a mild problem with it.

Nobody in the room mentioned this, but there was an expectant quality in the air, and it was directed at Shiro. As leader, he had to set an example to welcome this newcomer, even if his heart and mind waged war on what was right.

"We welcome anybody who has the means and the willingness to help us defeat Zarkon," he stated. The rest of the room agreed.

Internally, his emotions scattered, became erratic. He knew Athena harbored her own secrets, but to have her here, on the same ship, and in the same room made him dread the size of her deception. When he had met her at the cantina, he held no belief that his friend had any connections to this tiring and bloody campaign they ran to overthrow the Galran dictator.

Nor did he expect to have her in the heart of all this conflict.

The need to protect conflicted with his level-headedness and Shiro settled on tugging her back as she walked past by him. The room started emptying out as the Paladins and Princess Allura went on their own way.

"We have to talk," he gritted out.

"I agree, but not now," she said in low tones.

"Meet me tonight in the first hangar, in front of the black lion. We'll talk inside. It'll be safer then."

She nodded, violet eyes hard, and stalked away. Allura was waiting for her at the end of the hallway to presumably show her to her chambers.

Shiro wanted to work off all this pent-up energy, slash at robots or throw around his weight around droids if only to relieve himself of this sudden dread. It wasn't his usual way of handling things; destroying things was Keith's method of coping. Shiro couldn't pinpoint why, but Athena's presence pivoted the dynamics and placed them in more danger than they already were. It also tainted his composure and made him feel vulnerable in ways he hadn't anticipated.

He trusted his instincts - they were what got him out alive of the fighting rink. His innate sense was tingling with fear and apprehension; he had to figure out what her real intentions were. There was no way that a Galran defect would show up willing to help without something in it for her as well. He refused to believe his own train of thought even if it was concerned with his friend.

It was because she was a friend that made this whole thing worse.

Athena set her gear down as Allura's chipper voice disappeared behind the closed door.

"Thank you!" she called as the princess' retreating footsteps echoed down the hall. She sighed, and sat at the edge of the plain bed with its dull blue covers. She thought back to her speech, and remembered those months she spent in space. Athena had volunteered for different reasons, but her words remained true.

There was a war and she could help with it, in any capacity possible.

She remembered Dr. Holt, who had kick-started the Kerberos mission because he wanted to discover the planet's primitive live. She couldn't help but feel that the smaller one – Pidge – was familiar. She had seen his face before, on a different cadet. But it couldn't be...

Shiro would tell her if Matt was in the same room as them.

The young scientist set out her books and mapping tools. She had become infatuated with the idea of quintessence when she read it in a science book, disregarded for its inaccurate depictions of the secret power. She believed that the quintessence wasn't evil, per say. Opening her wallet, she retrieved a picture of her family. They smiled at her, faces tanned from the sun, visibly relaxed. Dr. Hannah Nakamura's hair shone bright, Ethan's brown eyes twinkling at a joke their father, Professor Alexis had told before they were photographed.

As far as she recalled, people had often told her that she resembled her father more than her mother. Ethan was their mother's image through and through. His normal brown eyes held a depth of knowledge and warmth no gaze could compare. She missed Ethan, and his loss echoed in her soul. Athena was going to see that her brother's legacy continued; she would not let his death be the end of his name.

That was partly why she had taken her mother's offer. When she had heard the stories of the legendary Paladins – folklore of her girlhood – resonating around the universe, she had to be a part of it. Especially when news that the Black Lion's pilot was an ex-garrison instructor came to her attention.

She had never expected to meet Shiro here, and his presence threw a ranch into the mission she had wanted to execute. Of course, no one sane would think she was here just to help the Princess Allura as a favor to their company. There was something else, something darker that she was trying to unveil.

A knock on her door jolted her out of her thoughts and she asked: "Who is it?"

"It's me – uh – Keith."

Her brow furrowed. Keith? The elusive Red Paladin baffled her. Why would he want a conversation with her when she had snubbed him in front of his team?

"G-Give me a second."

She stowed away her materials and smoothed her bed, even if she had only been sitting on it for the past five minutes. A press of a button and the door opened to admit a stony-faced Keith. His pale violet eyes were flint, and she picked up on his energy.

"Are you busy?" he asked, as usual without preamble.

Athena shook her head. "Can I help you with something?"

He leaned on the edge of the door. "I wanted to…apologize." Keith's arms crossed when he said that, and Athena didn't need a body language expert to tell her he was uncomfortable.

"Apologize?"

"For being rude. I'm...sorry for your loss. I knew Ethan," he said.

"Thank you. That's kind of you."

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Did you…did you see him after – I mean after everything…"

Keith trailed off, and Athena understood his question. "No. I didn't see his body. We buried an empty casket."

He bowed his head, dark locks obscuring part of his face.

Athena didn't know what compelled her to touch his shoulder, and when she did, a tiny spark pricked her fingers at their contact. She brushed it off like it didn't happen for his sake. Keith's face remained stoic.

"That was rude of me," he started and turned to walk away. "I'm sorry I disturbed you, you must've wanted some rest."

"No, you didn't," she said kindly. "Keith…if you want to talk about it, I'm here."

He jerked back in mild surprise.

"You knew Ethan from Shiro, right? It's okay, I understand if you're upset with everything," she admitted.

'Everything' encompassed Ethan's death and Shiro's disappearance. Her and Keith were more similar than she thought.

"I heard you left it, too," he said, referring to the news of her dropping out.

She peeked past his shoulder, down the empty hallway and decided it was best that they weren't seen talking about this.

"Do you want to come in?" she asked, not prepared for his reaction.

The unaffected Paladin had the audacity to look embarrassed. "Are you sure?"

Athena snorted. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just I don't know who would be listening and I don't want to start my first day here by throwing suspicion around myself."

"In that case," he stepped into her room and the door closed behind him. Athena didn't expect how big his frame was and how much he took up space in her room. He was a few inches taller than her, and although he lacked Shiro's natural bulk, Keith was commanding in his own way.

His eyes landed on her family photo.

"Nice picture."

She followed his gaze. "Yeah," Athena admitted ruefully. "We were celebrating Ethan's acceptance into the Garrison."

"Did you ever think of how your brother's life could've turned out different if he didn't accept the invitation?"

Athena laughed. "He would've found another way to explore space. My brother is nothing but stubborn – something I lack."

There was truth in her words: Athena had often been the black sheep of the family, Ethan dazzling everyone who encountered him and leaving his younger sister in the shadows. He was smart, kind, intuitive and even when he graduated, the commanders still used his performance and name as a bar she could never achieve.

It left her resentful of her older brother, an emotion that remained unresolved. She never got to talk to Ethan about what happened in her second year, and he never answered her Morse telegraphs during his mission. It seemed like he was separating himself from her even before his death occurred.

"Yeah, I remember," he said, as her words coaxed a smile out of him. When Keith smiled, he no longer looked like a discontented teenager; there were dimples on his cheeks and a bright shift in his eyes. "Why did you leave the garrison? Were you there when I was?"

"I don't think so," she said. "I would've remembered meeting you."

That caused his stoic exterior to soften. "As would I."

"How close were you to Ethan?" Athena was interested. Keith seemed like a young man who had gone through the worse barracks of life and that resulted in his lone wolf façade, something that reminded Athena of Shiro when she first met him.

"Not that close. My batch mates generally stayed away from me, but Ethan would often say 'hello' or ask me how I was. It was as close to someone I could get in the Garrison besides Shiro," he revealed.

"Oh, Ethan," she sighed, the goodness of her brother living on even after his death. "He was always a bright spot."

Keith seemed troubled over something, and she wondered what it was.

"Is there something else?" she prodded gently.

"God, I don't know why I can talk to you," he admitted, and sat down on the floor. Athena followed his lead and sat opposite of him, the cold from the room seeping into her skin.

"You can trust me. I know I've never given you cause to, but I can promise any secret of yours is safe with me," she reassured.

"You're Galran," he said, ploughing through with the non-existent niceties.

"Ah."

"Y-You don't have to tell me," he added, hasty to reiterate. "It's just that I'm—"

"Part Galran, too," she said.

"How—?"

"Your eyes. They're exactly like my fathers and he's only a smidge of Galran."

"A smidge?"

Athena chuckled. "Yeah. My great-grandfather was a Galran from my paternal side. Dad tried to keep it under wraps when he found out how his heritage race was trying to conquer the universe."

"It's not something to be proud of."

"I know you won't believe me, Keith," she said in earnest, "but there are some good Galras out there. I refuse to believe that a whole race is evil."

"They are," he argued. "You've no idea what they've done to Shiro, or to us."

"Shiro?"

Keith's face fell. "You don't know?"

She shook her head. "I just arrived fifteen minutes ago, Keith."

The Red Paladin raised a brow. "Guess that's his story to tell," he surmised.

"What did happen to him?"

"I don't know the full extent but all I know is that the whole crew of the Kerberos mission did not disappear in a day. They were captured by the Galrans."

"Captured?" Athena looked troubled for Keith said no more. He stood up.

"Like I said, it's Shiro's story to tell. Thank you for listening and I'm sorry to barge in on you like this."

Athena stood, watching as he exited her room. The door closed behind, leaving her once more with her fervent thoughts and a sick pitted feeling in her gut.

He hadn't meant to spy on her.

Shiro was against monitoring anyone on his team, but he didn't trust Athena. There was something shifty in her disposition that she kept well-hidden that even Allura, with her Althean sense couldn't detect. There was a hint of desperation about her.

He followed them, hiding behind a pillar, as the princess left after saying goodbye. A few moments passed and Shiro debated on whether to leave, when Keith arrived.

His teammate knocked on her door, and Athena opened to him. Shiro could see from Keith's face that he seemed troubled, and his suspicions were only heightened when she invited him into his room. The Black Paladin wanted to keep this professional, but he couldn't help the pang of jealousy rushing in his veins, igniting disturbing thoughts of Keith and Athena in situations that made his stomach turn.

He reminded himself that she didn't belong to him. He sure as hell didn't belong to her.

Shiro kept on this train of thought, footfalls soft as he stalked to her door. He could hear nothing except for the quiet murmuring of voices and Athena's brief burst of laughter.

It relieved him, somewhat.

Curiosity sated, he left, knowing that nothing troubling awaited behind her doors.


	3. the marks she bears

edit: fixed it after someone sent a message, sorry about the format before :/

* * *

Athena wasn't present during dinner time.

Allura had mentioned that the female pilot was tired and needed some time to rest. The team bought it and continued with their quick dinner, the rest of the evening spent training in the decks or brainstorming the Galra's next move . Shiro knew he wasn't supposed to be sitting all day, but there was nothing the Paladins could do. They hadn't caught wind of the latest Galran news and the Empire remained silent. It was starting to unnerve him.

He saw Allura and Coran shifting to the library for their nightly discussion and the rest of his teammates disbanding for their activities. Keith was grumbling under his breath that there wasn't a training deck for flight simulation.

Shiro had to laugh at that. He remembered the first day he met Keith Kogane and how this quiet boy had stunned the whole class to silence after the official results for Test Flight was released. Keith had grabbed the top spot, relegating himself to a fighter pilot's position and Shiro had been more than happy to offer him a helping hand. They had started on their friendship since then, and Keith remained one of the few people he was close to at the garrison. He was barely in contact with Athena, their schedules clashing since she was two years younger.

Keith was a different change and he liked their small discussions about life after the garrison and flight manoeuvre tactics . Never had Shiro anticipated they would be thrown into the ring once more, this time as fellow Paladins.

Shiro eyed him as he disappeared down the hallway, furtive. He wondered what Keith and Athena had been discussing. The younger man was a notorious hard shell to crack, and his willingness to speak to Athena triggered Shiro's suspicions. He took ages to warm up to person, and for him to seek out a stranger's company raised a red flag. He made his way down the hangar, passing the empty hallways and zipping down to the bay where the Black Lion was held. Shiro could feel her curiosity as he leaned against the cool black metal, the Lion prompting his thoughts.

'Why are you here? Is there danger?'

'No,' he responded. 'I'm waiting for a friend.'

Athena arrived fifteen minutes later, grumbling. "You could've at least given me more directions. I think I wandered half of the castle looking for the hangars."

"You could have just asked Lance or Hunk," he offered.

"Yeah, and risk them thinking I'm out to steal their…" she trailed off, noticing the huge structure in front of her. "…Lion?"

Shiro could feel his Lion's smugness at being admired , the glint in her yellow eyes unmissable.

"What – what is that?"

"That's the Black Lion, head of Voltron."

"Y-You're the leader?" she asked.

Shiro chuckled. "Find that hard to believe?"

"Well, yeah. For starters, you're still a huge meat head," she teased, recovering her wit. She sidled to the side and placed her palm on the shiny surface. Shiro had to smile; she hadn't called him 'meat head' in a long time. The Lion tugged his mind with a sensation of understanding; the Lion was beginning to grasp something and she was feeding those thoughts to him . Before he could ask her what she meant, Athena had already started talking.

"So, captured by the Galrans, huh?"

His stomach sank. "How did you know?"

"Keith," she stated. "We talked after my arrival and he told me."

"What were you talking about?" Shiro didn't want to give away that he had been spying on them. After this episode, he wasn't sure that she trusted him fully and he could say the same of himself.

"Ethan, surprisingly ," she said, pushing a lock of hair from her face. "He was asking me about everything after."

"I'm sorry," he said, realizing the nature of her conversation with Keith. The shame burned through his suspicions of her and left him aghast. "I didn't know he was close to Ethan. I'm sorry for your loss."

Athena shrugged. "It's no big problem."

"How are you?" he asked, this time in earnest. Shiro wanted to know how she was after all those years and he didn't like that she had tried to evade his questions before .

"I'm fine," she said, sounding surprised. "Why did you ask?"

"Just wondering how you were," he said with a shrug. "Can't a friend worry?"

"Sure," Athena said, neutral. "Friend."

She changed the subject, not wanting to linger on the insinuation any longer. "Now, tell me about you. What happened?"

"Kerberos," he said, grim. Athena understood the implication.

"Kerberos," she echoed, lost in her thoughts. "Did the Galras think you were intruders on the moon?"

Shiro tensed. "How do you know?"

"I figured," she said, shrugging. Her mood turned dark and she eyed him in speculation. "I'm sorry, Shiro,"

The Black Lion stood silent in his thoughts, giving them the privacy they so desperately craved since the first day they found each other in the cantina . "I don't know what you went through, but it must've been horrible. I know having me here is not helping you heal."

"No, I'm guessing you were meant to be here," he said, as way of reassurance.

"How long were you captured?"

"About a year," he said. "I can't remember much, so it would be no use asking me."

"How did you escape?" she pressed on.

He shook his head. "I can't remember."

Athena was silent. Shiro reached out his hand towards her, patting her shoulder . Athena smiled, despite herself. She liked the way how he was trying to reassure her in this decent way after all the indecent things they did together .

"You're blushing," he remarked.

"How could I not when you're touching me," she murmured and he flushed as well, retracting his hand.

"You know we can't continue that, right? For the sake of this mission." He said it calmly , measured, and yet she didn't believe him in the may be a good actor, but he needed a whole arsenal of skills if he wanted to persuade her that he didn't feel the same way; he was blushing just like her.

"Okay, Takashi," she said and the tension between them lessened.

"I have one more question: how did you end up here?" It felt like he was a broken record, the mystery of how Athena was in a different galaxy ceasing to surface.

Athena remained untroubled. "I told you; we picked up the Althean's signal."

"And you willingly arrived here?" Shiro asked, perplexed.

"Allura opened a designated wormhole for me and I arrived in the Arus galaxy, not far from where you all are situated . Thought I'd explore the universe with some coordinates Coran sent me and then I met you."

"That's lovely and all," Shiro started, "but why the sudden interest in quintessence? It's not like you showed any inkling for it back at the garrison."

"Because quintessence had something to do with Ethan," she said, and the tension returned .

Shiro was caught off guard. "Ethan? How?"

"His body wasn't found. All they had was his rippled pilot jacket, nothing much to tell me that he's dead. All that they found on site were some weird encryptions that I have yet to break. I knew he was interested in the sixth element and that had something to do with the last thing he left behind."

Compassion flooded his chest. Shiro knew that the young woman was struggling; he could see it in her eyes, and despite all the bravado she espoused about her brother's tragic death, Ethan was still very much alive in Athena's mind. Which would hurt her more when he stated the facts.

"But I read the report that the rebellion failed. Nobody survived."

"You know I don't believe it, Takashi," she said, soft with anxiety. "I don't believe my brother is dead; I felt him when I entered the wormhole. He's still alive."

Shiro sighed. When Athena set her mind on something, it was futile to try and change it. "I hope you don't destroy yourself believing what you believe, Athena."

"I hope so, too, Shiro," she murmured.

"Can I see those encryptions? I could help," he offered.

"Sure," Athena said easily . "I'll pass it to you tomorrow during breakfast."

"I would rather you pass it to me here," he said, indicating the Black Lion. "In the hangars so Allura and the rest wouldn't get suspicious."

"You think I'm here to spy on you?" she teased, though a hint of indignation rose from between her words.

Shiro sighed. "I've been through a lot of things that have erased my belief in people. Don't take it personally ."

Athena seemed perturbed with his explanation. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Shiro confirmed, watching as she exited the hangar, gaze lingering on her marked hands.


End file.
